Image Source: Bogartier

Bulgaria and Romania, two of the latest members of the European family, have been denied accession to the Schengen Area despite the fact that they satisfy all the necessary criteria. The denial comes from the side of two states, the Netherlands and Finland.

Yesterday there was a discussion on the matter in the European Parliament including European Commissioner on Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmstrom and several Members of the European Parliament. Some MEP’s raised issues of illegal migration, drug trafficking and other related subjects, claiming that Bulgaria and Romania are unable to control their borders, tackle corruption and combat the mafia. As the discussion progressed in the European Parliament, an MEP who defended the position of Bulgaria and Romania, asked one very reasonable question: How do you know that we cannot control our borders? Have you been there? Do you have spies in our country? The answer from the MEP who was forwarding the rhetoric of Netherlands-Finland was the sort of this: I read it in the newspaper….

I was shocked the moment I heard an MEP, a person who legislates on matters that affect all European citizens, indirectly admitting that no serious research reinforces the arguments against Bulgaria and Romania. In other words, all those of us who watched yesterday’s plenary session, were confronted with a clear-cut manifestation of populism. If there was an objective study demonstrating empirically that Bulgaria and Romania are unable to control their borders and therefore constitute a threat to the Schengen Area, then the MEP ought to present it, instead of resorting to some newspaper article.

Another MEP tried to justify the otherwise groundless position of Netherlands-Finland by making comparisons to the case of Dexia bank, who passed the “technical” criteria with success but apparently those were utterly false (see Dexia zombie bank: The tip of the iceberg and the derisory stress tests). First of all the comparison is completely inaccurate as it compares a private corporation with sovereign states. Second the stress tests that Dexia passed were designed in such a way so as to conceal the fact that European banks are verging on insolvency. These tests were from the outset derisory. Contrary to that the criteria of the Schengen were not designed to fool anyone, instead they were created in such a way so as to guarantee the viability of the Schengen.

The arguments of Netherlands-Finland against the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area, despite the fact that they satisfy all criteria are completely groundless and constitute the continuation of the sort of populist rhetoric that victimizes a group of people just for the sake of satisfying some idiotic euroskeptic trends in national electorates.

The European Union is above all a community of partners that share the same visions. Lately populist talk that aims at concealing other more profound malignancies, has threatened the integrity of our states. Just like the populism in Germany and elsewhere that made no mention to the mountains of debt of private banks (Deutsche Bank had a debt of 80% relative to the GDP of Germany!) and put all the blame of the crisis on the lazy “PIIGS”, now Bulgaria and Romania are being blamed for being unable to control their borders with just the same sort of groundless rhetoric.

We need to have a sense of proportionality and attribute to every problem the degree and the attention it deserves. For now we are making minor issues the subject of every discussion and this has brought only unpleasant results so far. Bulgaria and Romania are equal members of the EU and since they satisfy the rules they must become part of Schengen.

Schengen Wars: Bulgaria and Romania are victims of populism | Protesilaos Stavrou.